With Insanity Comes Wisdom
by Ravenna676
Summary: What happens when an unlikely cast of characters get invited to California,serious problems arise and now Daria and company must find their way home Love arises and peril persists... Will they ever find their way back to Lawndale? and who is Michael Raeka
1. LA

With Insanity come Wisdom

L.A.

Beep! Beep! Beep! An alarm rang out

A hand reaches out and hits the alarm.

"Another day, why am I not excited?" A familiar voice said as she reached for her glasses. She threw on her usual clothes and walked downstairs into the kitchen.

"But MOOM! I just have to have those black fuzzy boots with the silver lining, I can't wear anything else with that outfit for the dance next week" Her sister whined as her mother made coffee.

"I can't in good conscious spend 200$ on boots your gonna wear once and forget about" her mother said before her cell phone rang. "Hello, oh hi Eric, of course I thought about the big case… who cares if it's UNICEF? just nab them after Halloween when they have a lot of money… of course ill be right there" She said as she hung up her phone and sprinted out the door.

"You know that silver lining is just nice wording for the lining of a baby seal stomach" Her sister said grabbing the paper.

"DARIA, Don't even kid about that I love the animals!" Quinn said with her hands on her hips.

"What about the leather cow hide jacket your recent boy toy bought you?" Daria pointed out.

"Well who cares about cows all they do is sit there and eat grass and look fat" Quinn said grabbing her leather jacket to get ready to leave for school.

"So it's only the cute animals I see" Daria said following suit and grabbing her backpack and putting the paper inside.

"Of course, who wants to save a cow honestly" Quinn said as she ran out the door to meet boy escort in the car.

"Flavor of the week I'm guessing" Daria said to herself as she started walking. About ten minutes later she made it to her friend's house. She rang the doorbell and her sleepy friend answered the door.

"Why the hell are you here so early?" Jane said, her hair in disarray and looking like she hadn't slept in weeks.

"School starts in like 10 minutes so I figured I had to bug you" Daria said in her usual monotone voice.

"Point taken, give me 15 minutes, come in, have some coffee" Jane said as she walked into the bathroom. Daria shook her head slightly.

"You Lane's really do have no concept of time do you?" Daria said leaning against the kitchen counter.

"No that's just my brother, he's clueless, me on the other hand just don't bother to care" Jane yelled out from the bathroom.

"Ah it's all making sense to me now" Daria said pouring herself a cup of water. A few moments later Jane came out.

"Alright let's get outta here" Jane said, and with that they both headed off for school.

"Ya know sooner or later Mr. O'Neil is going to do something about us being late every day" Daria said as they walked.

"Please, the only thing he'll do is kill us with his constructive critism, and that's from boredom and not him. And plus you don't have to stop at my house, ya know" Jane said.

"Yeah well who would wake you up in the morning and who would protect me from the intelligence of Brittney and Kevin in the same room at the same time" Daria said.

"Point taken, but I could always just have Trent wake me up" Jane said.

"I want you to take a second and really think about that statement" Daria said looking at her friend.

"Point taken, hey speaking of the sleeping dead, have a favor to ask ya" Jane said in an unusually happy tone.

"Yeah?" Daria said inquisitively.

"Shocking to say but Mystic Spiral got an interview with a top Music executive in LA, the bands going, me and tom are going and as always but we could use a third wheel on the trip, Wanna come?" Jane asked.

"Well I'm glad I see my importance on this trip" Daria said as she continued walking.

"Oh come on Daria, We need the company and this could give you some alone time with Trent" Jane added smirking a little bit.

"Fine my parents are out of town for 2 weeks for spring break anyways starting Friday" Daria said sighing a bit.

"Great, were leaving Friday night via plane anyways, here's an extra ticket if you want to bring a friend" Jane added handing Daria the ticket.

"Cause you know those come in such great supply with me" Daria said semi jokingly putting the tickets in her backpack.

"Aw does that mean Brittney doesn't get to tag along?" Jane asked sarcastically. A moment passed.

"So your parents trust you guys home alone?" Jane asked.

"They trust me more or less not to destroy the house and to keep tabs on Quinn" Daria said.

"Ah because that's not a gigantic mistake" Jane said laughing as they approached the steps of the school 10 minutes late. "Well we're here not a moment too soon" Jane said.

"Don't you mean, moment too late?" Daria asked sarcastically.

"All about the technicalities aren't we" Jane said as they both made their way to class.

"Another day" Daria said.

"Another excuse" Jane added on as they both entered. Mr. O'Neill looked at both of them.

"And why are you girls late this morning?" Mr. O'Neill asked leaning up against his desk in his unnecessarily passive voice.

"We were bracing ourselves for your emotional lecture about the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet" Jane said taking her seat.

"Yeah, the way you bring the story to life makes me feel like the tragedy is my own" Daria said following up her friend.

"Oh well thank you for true understanding of the tragedy, Class you should all take on this play to heart like Daria and Jane have" Mr. O'Neill said before he started his lecture. The class scowled and shot dirty looks at the too. Daria Smiled and Jane snickered.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Daria drawing amusing pictures of her teachers, contemplating if Kevin actually is mentally retarded. The thought of California had crossed her mind, her being a third wheel to Tom and Jane, although she could already see Jane become the third wheel, which made her question why Jane would encourage that. And also there's the issue of Quinn, leaving her alone for any longer than an hour would mean certain doom for the house. The quick thought of dragging her along came to mind, followed by a sudden shiver and an immediate change of topic.

School let out and Daria began walking home.

'Hmmm it's Tuesday and ill be taking off Friday, that gives me 3 days to get ready bribe my sister not to tell mom and dad and talk her into not destroying the house beyond recognition' She thought to herself. 'Because this will be an easy task' she thought as she shook her head slightly.

HONK! HONK!…

She turned and saw Tom.

"Need a lift?" He asked pulling along side her.

"Nah, I'm alright I live right around the block" Daria said.

"Then how about we walk together?" He said getting out of his car.

"You'd figure the simple no would work, guess not" She said as the two started walking.

"I'm not a simple guy and I like being the annoyance I guess" Tom said with his hands in his pockets looking up.

"You got the annoyance part down to a tee I see" Daria said.

"And you're still angry as usual, so did Jane talk to you about Friday?" Tom asked.

"Yeah how long will we be there?" Daria asked.

"Just the weekend, we'll be back here on Monday night" He said.

"Hmmm" She mumbled as they walked a moment in silence.

"Something on your mind?" He asked. 

"Just thinking of how exciting it'll be to be to hang on you and Jane in LA" Daria said in her monotone voice.

"I see your sarcasm will never fade, well don't worry about we'll make time to include you" Tom said

"That's what I'm Worried about" Daria said as they approached her door.

"See you Around" Tom said.

"Yeah Bye" She said as she walked in and shut the door. He shrugged and walked back to his car.

'Great a weekend with him and Jane will be awesome' she thought sarcastically as she began walking past the chaos that was her family and up to her room.

Meanwhile a couple streets down, Jane was working on her latest piece of artwork resembling something of a Picasso painting.

"Hey Jane what's up?" Trent asked walking into her room.

"Trying to find inspiration" She said looking at her lack luster product.

"Inspiration is hard to come by sometimes" Trent said.

"And you of all people would know I'm guessing" Jane said smirking a bit.

"Did you ask Daria about The trip?" Trent asked leaning up against the door.

"Yeah she's game for it, I even gave her that extra ticket" Jane said leaning up against the bed.

"Who do you think she'll bring?" He asked.

"Daria? She's not the social butterfly you give her credit for, she probably won't bring anyone" Jane said.

"Ah I see" He said as he turned to go out.

"Wait, what did you say this was for again?" Jane asked.

"Talent scouts saw us play and now an executive wants us to audition for him for a record contract" Trent explained.

"Hmm interesting he gave you all those plane tickets for your friends and such" Jane said.

"Yeah, he must be a really nice guy" Trent said.

"What's the executive's name?" She asked.

"Darren LeStat" He said.

"Had to pick a French men?" she asked sarcastically.

"No choice, he picked us" he said as he walked out.

"Hmm" She mumbled as she went back to work. The phone rang.

"Yes?" she said picking up the phone.

"Hey it's Daria, you up for pizza?" She asked.

"Yeah sure give me like 45 minutes to finish up things here" She said putting her brushes away.

"Alright I'll just meet you at your house" Daria said.

"Alright See ya then" Jane said and hung up the phone. She finished putting her stuff away and then smelled her underarms. "Hot damn I could definitely go for a shower about now" She said as she walked towards the bathroom.

45 minutes later…

Daria walked up to the door and rang the bell.

"Oh hey Daria" Trent said answering the door.

"Hey Trent, is Jane around?" She asked.

"Yeah she's upstairs" Trent said, and Daria walked in. "You want some coffee?" Trent asked in his stoner-like tone.

"No thanks Trent, we're going out to eat pizza, but thanks anyways" She said.

"Alright" Trent said walking down to the basement as Jane walked in from the living room in her usual outfit.

"You ready to go?" Jane asked putting her boots on.

"Just waiting for you" Daria said making her way to the door.

At the pizza place…

"So you're coming with us?" Jane asked taking a bite into her pizza.

"Yeah I decided what the hell, with the parents being out of town and all" Daria said.

"Well that's good, I could use the company, especially with that band" Jane said smirking.

"Well don't you have Tom to amuse you" Daria asked sipping her drink.

"Yeah well we figured the only way for it to be interesting is if we had a threesome at the hotel, hence why we invited you" Jane said sarcastically.

"Oh I'm guessing I should feel special" Daria said.

"Yeah, and he also runs when the term period is mentioned so I could use the company from time to time" Jane said.

"Now I really feel special" Daria said chuckling to herself. "So all in all who's going?" Daria asked.

"Well there are me, you, Tom, the band, and whichever poor bastard you drag along" Jane said.

"Hmm alright I think that's manageable" Daria said.

"Yeah we'll just fly down be there for the weekend and be back by Monday" Jane said.

"Well I get the feeling this certainly will be interesting" Daria said finishing up her pizza.

"The hell it will be, it'll be fun, Daria and Jane amongst the beautiful people" Jane said laughing.

"This definitely will be interesting" Daria said.

"So any thoughts about whom you're going to bring with you? Jane asked.

"No idea, I might not bring anyone" Daria said.

"Shocking, the loner goes alone" Jane said.

"I'll always have that threesome to fall back on" Daria said smiling and finishing up her food.

"We knew we could count on you" Jane said. They laughed, got up and left.

Unknowing to them someone was listening…

Later on that night Daria was in her room reading when someone began knocking on the door.

"Entry will result in you being maimed" Daria said not taking her eyes off the book. The door kicked open; Daria looked up to see Quinn.

"Oh joyous, to what do I owe the pleasure" Daria asked still with book in hand.

"Daria we have to talk" Quinn said walking over to her bed and sitting down. 

"I believe we've talked too much so you should probably leave now" Daria said looking at her book.

"You're going to Los Angeles, and you have an extra ticket, and you absolutely have to take me" Quinn said in a hurry. It was then Daria put her book down.

"What do I have to do to get you to not go?" Daria asked.

"Nothing, I have to go on this trip" Quinn said.

"No" Daria said bluntly.

"Please" Quinn pleaded.

"How much is the land of fake beautiful people worth to you?" Daria asked.

"Alright how about this, I'll do chores for a week, 20 dollars, and I'll buy you dinner while we're there" Quinn said.

"Chores for a month, skip dinner, and 100 dollars and you got a deal" Daria said.

"30 dollars" Quinn proposed.

"50 dollars" Daria said.

"Fine deal" Quinn said.

"Alright but we're laying out some ground rules" Daria said.

"Like what?" Quinn asked.

" Your cell phones staying on at all times so I don't lose you in the shopping abyss, we're going in support of my friends band so we're going to the studio which includes you too, shop all you want, but if I lose you you'll live in LA understand?" Daria said.

"Alright" Daria said.

"And you won't even refer to California around mom or dad, get it?" Daria said. 

"Got it" Quinn said.

"Good" Daria said.

"So I'm actually going with you guys?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah if you do what I say" Daria said.

"Wow Daria you've gotten soft, I thought I was actually going to have to pay you 100 dollars" Quinn said laughing a bit.

"I could always rip up the ticket now and crush your hope there" Daria said smirking.

"And I could always slip to mom and dad about your little vacation" Quinn said smirking back.

"Our relationship remains the same I see" Daria said.

"It always will, Daria" Quinn said as she got up to walk out. "Oh by the way Daria thanks" Quinn added as she walked out.

'I think I am getting soft' Daria thought as she got back to her book.


	2. Preparations

Preperations

Disclaimer: If you think for some weird reason I own Daria, I'd check yourself

Daria rolled over in her bed and looked at the clock. "6:50, meh I really don't want to wake up" Daria mumbled into her pillow. She slowly got up and looked at her calendar. 'Thursday, tomorrows the big day' Daria thought to herself. She smiled at first at the very thought at leaving Lawndale, then grimaced at the fact she got suckered into dragging Quinn along for the ride. She made her way downstairs and into the kitchen for some toast.

"Daria, have you seen my briefcase?" her mother asked. Daria sat down.

"Did you try looking by the door where you put it last night?" Daria said noticing her mothers brown briefcase by the door.

"Oh thank you dear" Helen said as she ran for the door to go to work. Her father was no where to be seen and probably already left for work, that was life typically in the Morgendorffer household, not that Daria minded, solitude was one of her allies.

"Hello Daria" Quinn said sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Oh Quinn, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Daria said in excited sarcasm.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't change your mind about tomorrow?" Quinn said a little nervously.

"No, want to give me a reason too?" Daria asked sarcastically.

"Oh great I can't wait to pack" Quinn said as she darted off. Daria just shook her head, and then looked at her watch. '7:10, I should probably get to school' She thought as she walked outside to Jane's house. As she walked she contemplated what it was going to be like going to a big city like Los Angeles. Growing up in Highland and Lawndale left much to be desired from the urban enthusiast. The thought of Quinn, Tom, Jane, her, and the band also was an entertaining idea to say the least, and the only question she had was how long it was going to take before everyone left her in Los Angeles, a thought that made her smile.

Walking up to La Casa Lane, she rang the doorbell. Jane answered with her hair in all sorts of disarray.

"You know school starts in 15 minutes, and it takes about that to walk there" Daria said smirking at the sight of her friend's hair.

"No biggie, we'll just take Trent's car" Jane said motioning Daria to come inside.

"Won't he be upset if you just take his car?" Daria asked as Jane grabbed his keys off the hook.

"Well for one he's fine if I borrow it every once in a while and two what makes you think he'll be up by the time we get home to notice?" Jane said smiling.

"Point taken" Daria said. Jane then walked into the bathroom to get ready.

"So, give any thought to who you want to bring with you?" Jane yelled from the bathroom. Daria froze for a second looking at her coffee she helped herself too.

"Umm, I was thinking Quinn" Daria somehow managed to say. A second later she could hear something drop in the bathroom.

Jane's head popped out of the doorway.

"Where is Daria and what have you done with my friend?" Jane said totally caught off guard by her decision.

"She came in my room and told me she overheard our conversation at the pizza place, she bribed me and I had a soft heart that day" Daria said finishing her coffee.

"She threatened to tell your parents didn't she?" Jane asked as she finished brushing her hair.

"Basically" Daria said getting up.

"Shrewd girl, she takes after you in that department" Jane said as she grabbed the keys off the table. They both headed for the door.

"Keep up that talk and you wont live to see Los Angeles" Daria said as the both made their way to the car and off to school.

Later on that day…

Quinn Morgendorffer sat in her global class not caring in the least about what the Chinese did 3,000 years ago. All she could think about is going to Los Angeles, and all the shopping that was going to ensue. The next best thing being New York City, and the very thought of them going cross country without their parents knowledge was kind of exciting, at least in the mind of a 15 year old freshman. She was still a little caught off guard by the fact her sister is letting her go with her and friends. The whole idea was shocking to say the least.

'But hey who am I to complain' Quinn thought to herself as she daydreamed staring blankly out the window.

Meanwhile In art class…

Jane sitting on her stool, working on her latest art project although she was slightly disinterested while the whole trip was on her mind. She was shocked to hear Daria allowed Quinn to come, which goes against the very fabrics of existence as far as Jane was concerned. Her picture she was creating portrayed a group of young people running across America, running from corporate greed and power in the form of paper money and unworn suits. Her art teacher was making her rounds to check in on all the students and their artworks. She made her way to Jane's piece.

"Interesting idea I'd say, but its lacking the creative edge you normally have" The teacher said.

"Every artist has there dry periods" Jane said looking at her artwork.

"I guess your right" the teacher said moving on. Jane sat there and reflected on the trip to come.

'This is going to be quite interesting' Jane thought to herself. Then she took some brushstrokes and drew some round eyeglasses on one of the characters in the painting, a make up bag on the other, a guitar over of their shoulders and drew a brush in the hands of one.

'Very interesting' Jane said smiling.

Meanwhile in English class…

"Alright now class, I'm disappointed that half of you guys are failing, but its ok, because this means you only have to try harder to become better" Mr. O'Neill said in his soft unimposing voice. Daria meanwhile was contemplating a weekend with Quinn in Los Angeles and how she ever allowed herself to be suckered into it. She let out a heavy sigh.

"Daria, do you have any ideas on how to improve the class?" Mr. O'Neill asked her calmly.

"Well I think its amusing that half the class is failing a class dedicated to the language in which they speak" Daria said.

"Your absolutely right Daria, and class that's why we need to take more appreciation in the work we do" Mr. O'Neill said. Daria smiled at the fact she knew he sent him in another half hour pro-self esteem speech, and knowing the class probably appreciated that more than the English language. Her mind wandered back onto the trip, she figured she had to pack tonight seeing as how they left at noon tomorrow, her parents would leave early that morning before they woke up so they wouldn't be an issue and they were gone for the entire 2 weeks of spring break for their anniversary so knowing them they wouldn't be checking in on them, at least for that weekend. 

'I can't help but get a strange feeling about all this' Daria thought to herself but shrugged it off thinking it was just the idea of going to a big city. The rest of the day went by very uneventfully and the three knew that was it for school before vacation.

Daria met up with Jane and the two began walking towards Trent's car.

"So give any second thoughts about taking Quinn" Jane asked.

"Nope, I figure she's paying and if she goes back on her word, I just leave her there" Daria said smiling.

"Ah the true colors of Daria and greed come out now" Jane said smiling thinking of her painting.

"For 50 dollars" Daria said.

"Ah the prices one most pay" Jane said as she got in the driver side. Daria was about to get in the passenger side before she heard a familiar yell.

"Daria! Wait!" Quinn yelled running to the car.

"She addressed you in public, now I know something is wrong" Jane said to Daria who was standing outside the car.

"I need to talk to you guys about this trip, can I go with you?" Quinn asked catching her breath. Daria looked at Jane, she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah hop in the back" Daria said as they both got in the car and drove off.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Quinn asked.

"Well you see we're all going to go to Los Angeles, and mistakenly leave you in baggage claim while we go on a shopping spree" Daria said sarcastically.

"Seriously Daria I want to know so I'm running around like crazy" Quinn said frowning.

"Well mom and dad leave at 4:30 that morning to catch their flight; we'll leave the house at like 8 and head to Jane's where we meet up with everyone else. We head to the airport at 11, catch our flight at noon be there at about 10 that night" Daria explained.

"And hopefully sometime in the process, we lose you in baggage claim" Jane said smirking.

"Wait we're missing school?" Quinn asked startled.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Daria asked.

"We have a very important fashion club meeting tomorrow, and I can't miss it" Quinn said worriedly.

"Well we'll tell you about it when we get back then" Jane said. Quinn caught what that meant.

"I guess sacrifices must be made" Quinn said thinking about the shopping experience to come.

"She talks like people will die by her not being there" Jane said.

"Fashion is life to her" Daria said jokingly.Jane then pulled into Daria's house.

"Alright see you kiddos tomorrow then?" Jane said.

"Yeah see ya tomorrow" Daria said as her and Quinn got out. Jane drove away with a wave and Daria and Quinn made their way into the house.

Later on that night…

Daria was in her room finishing up her most recent romance novel before she heard a knock at the door.

"If you come into contact with the door, then you know you've gone too far" Daria said not taking her eyes off the book. The door opened and Quinn walked in.

"Um Daria, I just wanted to say thank you for taking me on this trip" Quinn said.

'Like I had a choice' Daria thought to herself but she could see through her act. "What do you want Quinn?" Daria asked.

"Can we bump that 50 dollars down to 30?" Quinn asked,

"And what's my incentive?" Daria asked.

"Umm I've got nothing, I just needed the money for shopping" Quinn said.

"How bout this, you be a good little girl and not cause me any headaches and I'll see what I can do" Daria said in a parent to child like tone.

"Thanks Daria" Quinn said standing there awkwardly for a second.

"So why haven't you left yet?" Daria asked noticing her standing there for no reason.

"I'm worried, this kind of excursion is really big and if we get caught we're dead" Quinn said.

"You could always stay here and leave the risk with me" Daria said.

"Like hell, its Los Angeles, I'm not missing out on that, especially no parents" Quinn said with excitement in her voice.

"Then no problem then" Daria said.

"But don't you get the least bit nervous?" Quinn asked sitting down on the floor.

"If everything goes according to plan then there's nothing to worry about" Daria said putting her book on her lap.

"And what if it doesn't?" Quinn asked.

"We're all resourceful, we'll figure out something" Daria said.

"How can you keep a cool head about this, I know I can't, I mean we're going cross country for gods sake that does not affect you at all?" Quinn said worriedly.

"Someone around here has to keep a cool head" Daria said. Quinn thought about her and her parents then Daria and saw her point.

"Go pack and get some sleep, I'm not waiting around for you come tomorrow" Daria said picking her book back up.

"Yeah probably should, but thanks again" Quinn said walking out of Daria's room. Daria didn't take her eyes off the book but tried not to think about the rare occurrence of her sister actually thanking her for anything, she didn't want to think to much, tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	3. The Adventure Begins

The adventure begins

Disclaimer: If you think I own Daria, I want you to think about your thinking, if you can that is

Daria lay in her bed with her room pitch dark, she began to stir as she opened one eye. She could see the hallway light on and shadows moving about underneath the crack of her doorway. She looked at her clock, 4:12.

'Just like clockwork' Daria thought to herself as she dosed off to sleep. As it would seem in the blink of an eye she saw the door open, she took at glance at the clock and pretended to go back to sleep not seeing who it was. '5:37 they should be gone by now' Daria thought as she continued her act.

"Daria wake up" She heard a different voice whisper. She opened her eyes and saw Quinn.

"Quinn go back to bed, its 5:30" Daria mumbled through her pillow.

"Can't sleep" Quinn said sitting on the bed.

"And you're expecting me to do what exactly?" Daria said taking her face from out from underneath the pillow.

"I was hoping?" Quinn said optimistically.

"You really are a pain in the ass you know?" Daria said. 

"Come on Daria, I'm just trying a little sisterly bonding" Quinn said.

Daria sat up, looked at Quinn, and let out a sigh. "Next time you try bonding with me at 5:30 in the morning the only thing you'll be bonding with is my foot. Go take a shower I'll start making some breakfast, airport food is wicked expensive" Daria said.

"Way ahead of ya" Quinn said excitedly as she hurried out the room.

'If she takes her normal shower then I'll have another half hour to sleep.' Daria thought as she planted her head back into her pillow. About 45 minutes later she got up to go make breakfast when she heard the phone ring.

"Yeah" Daria said picking up the phone.

"Hey there sleepy head" Jane said.

"You're awfully perky this morning" Daria said slumping into the kitchen.

"Yeah well how about you guys come over for breakfeast and coffee, I'm making pancakes!" Jane said with such enthusiasm.

"Fine by me, I didn't feel like making food anyways" Daria said.

"Alright cool food should be ready in like an hour" Jane said.

"Alright see ya then" Daria said hanging up the phone. As she hung up Quinn walked down in her designer sunglasses, beach outfit of short shorts and a tank top.

"Does outfit look alright?" Quinn said turning around in a circle twice.

"We haven't left Lawndale yet" Daria said.

"Yeah but still, hey where's breakfast?" Quinn asked.

"Change of plan we're going to Jane's for breakfast" Daria said,

"Oh I see" Quinn said.

"Yeah we're heading to her house in like 30 minutes so get what you need" Daria said.

"30 minutes! That won't be enough time to get ready!" Quinn whined.

"Well make it enough time, I want to eat" Daria said as she walked upstairs.

"Oh fine" She said as she rushed past Daria upstairs to get ready.

'As for me I need to change out of these scummy clothes' she thought as she noticed her long over shirt and grey sweatpants she was wearing. After 30 minutes of showering changing and bringing baggage downstairs, Quinn and Daria met downstairs by the door.

"Ready?" Daria asked.

"Yeah, lets peace out of here" Quinn said as she found a way to carry her 6 bags of clothes and other materials, compared to Daria's one.

"You really don't need all that crap, you know" Daria muttered as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Daria, you never know what fashion situation might come up, especially in Los Angeles. I must be prepared" Quinn said with great pride.

"Ah smart thinking Quinn" Daria said with intense sarcasm.

"You don't think this looks kind of suspicious, we walking down the road with a bunch of baggage like this" Quinn said looking around.

"We're fine it's still quarter to 7 in the morning, school hasn't started, parents are already on their plane, and we're alright" Daria said seeing Jane's road.

'Great almost there, this sisterly bonding is starting to get to me' Daria thought as they continued to walk.

Meanwhile at Jane's

"Is Daria here yet" Jane yelled from the kitchen.

"No don't see them yet" Tom said as he lay relaxed on the couch. Jane peaked into the living room.

"You're not even looking" Jane said as she continued making her strawberry and blueberry pancakes.

"Hey Jane, is Daria here yet?" Trent asked walking into the kitchen.

"Holy shit the mans awake" Jane said jokingly.

"Haven't slept yet" Trent said.

"Ah, that explains it. But Daria isn't here yet, not that Tom would now he's so relaxed on the couch while I cook" Jane said with a scowl. The doorbell rang.

"Daria here!" Tom yelled out from the living room. Jane sighed.

"Thanks captain obvious" Jane said as she jogged to the door.

"Hey guy's" Jane said opening the door.

"You're awfully awake this morning" Daria said.

"A pot of coffee will do that" Jane said as she motioned both of them to come in. Daria sat in the kitchen while Quinn sat in the living room.

"So your Daria's sister huh?" Tom said.

"Um yeah" Quinn said a bit uneasily in these new surroundings.

"Hmm who would've thought Daria's sister would be the popular type" he chuckled as he dozed off on the couch.

Meanwhile in the kitchen

"So you want blueberry or strawberry?" Jane asked.

"How about some coffee?" Daria asked leaning her head back with her eyes closed.

"Too late, Jane drank it all" Trent said in his mellow voice.

"Yeah, and we're going back to sleep after breakfast anyways till 10 when we leave" Jane said as she put the pancakes on plates and brought them around to everyone in the house.

"So where's the band?" Daria asked taking a bite into blueberry pancake.

"We're meeting them at the airport" Trent said calmly.

"Hmm I see" Daria said. Jane walked in.

"So where is everyone sleeping?" Jane asked.

"Everyone can crash in my room, it's cool" Trent said finishing his pancake. With that Trent and Daria got up and walked into the living room.

7:36 AM

About a half hour had passed since everyone went up stairs and Jane was still doing dishes. When she has finished she walked upstairs towards Trent's room. When she arrived she witnessed a sight to behold.

'This would make a funny piece of artwork' Jane thought as she looked about the room. Daria, Trent, and Quinn were all on Trent's bed. Quinn had her head rested upon Trent's stomach, and Daria sleeping alongside Quinn. Meanwhile Tom lay passed out on Trent's couch, all of which were passed out. Jane smiled and went to go lay with tom.

9:58

Jane's phone buzzed as her alarm went off. She looked at the time and got up. She saw that Daria and Tom got up while Trent and Quinn still slept. Jane walked over.

"Hey Guys get up" Jane said as she nudged Quinn awake and dragged Trent by the foot off the bed. Both inevitably got up. As the three got up they brought their stuff downstairs with Daria and Tom's.

"Ready to go?" Tom asked.

"Let's rock and roll" Trent said. They all put their stuff in the trunk and piled into the car Trent and Daria in the front and Tom, Quinn, and Jane in the back. They took off and within a few moments they passed a full school and towards the city limits.

10:20

"So what's what airport we going too?" Quinn asked.

"JFK about 45 minutes away" Jane said.

"Say goodbye to Lawndale New York" Tom said pointing at the sign that indicating they were leaving city limits.

"And good riddance" Daria said leaning her head against the window to go back to sleep. The rest of the car ride went rather uneventfully, with Tom and Quinn sleeping in the back and Daria sleeping up front. Trent would sleep if he could be he had to drive and Jane daydreamed in the back about lying out in the Californian sun. When they arrived at the airport Trent parked his car in the airport parking lot and everyone got out their stuff and proceeded towards the terminal doors.

11:04 AM

They went in and checked their bags. Tom, Daria, and Jane each brought a suitcase, while Trent just brought a duffle bag, while Quinn brought 6 different bags of clothes and makeup. After they check their bags and made their way through airport security they opted to take a break, sitting down outside the check in gate.

"Well here we are, what time is it?" Tom asked.

"11:37, we got a good 20 minutes" Jane said looking at her watch.

"I feel like such a rebel" Quinn said sitting down in the chair relieved from checking those 6 bags of hers. Trent just laughed. "What's so funny?" Quinn asked.

"You must be one of the good little school girls, huh" Trent said laughing a bit.

"For you information, I've had detention 5 times this year thank you very much" Quinn said crossing her arms.

"Ooo what a rebel" Jane said laughing with Trent.

"What time are we supposed to get into Los Angeles?" Daria asked.

"I'm thinking probably sometime around 11PM or midnight" Trent said leaning back in his chair looking up towards the ceiling.

"Hmm" she mumbled.

"And we have to find a place to stay once we get there" Trent said.

"Wait you mean we have no reservations?!?" Quinn said.

"Nope, but we'll find some" Trent said casually.

"But what if we don't?" Quinn said not as casually.

"Then I guess we live off the land" Tom joked, getting a laugh out of everyone except Quinn.

"You guys are way to care free" Quinn said crossing her arms.

_All boarding flight 676, with full none stop service to Los Angeles, is now boarding at gate B-7_

"Looks like its time to go" Trent said standing up, with the rest of the group following suit. They all boarded the plane and found their seats. Tom, Jane, and Quinn got seated together with Trent and Daria getting seated 3 rows ahead.

"Great how come I'm stuck in the middle" Quinn whined crossing her arms.

"You're complaining" Jane muttered as she put her seat back and her headphones on, meanwhile a few rows ahead.

'This is going to be a long plane ride' Daria thought to herself.

"This is going to be a long plane ride" Trent saying exactly what Daria thought.

"Yeah no kidding" Daria said.

"You should take a nap, that's what I plan on doing" Trent said. Daria then put her head on his shoulder and his head was resting against hers.

'Maybe it wont be so long after all' Daria thought as she smiled then fell asleep, with Trent doing the same. And with that the plane took off, the plane rumbled at first during take off then smoothened out once they got in the air, and with that they were on their way to California.

Meanwhile back on the ground

"They are on their way now" Someone said into their cell phone.

"Very good, our plan is working perfectly, your loyalty will be soon rewarded" The voice said over the phone. The man hung up the phone.

"I intend to be very rich by Monday" the mysterious man said to himself.


	4. City of Angels

Good times in the City of Angels 

Disclaimer: ok so I lied, I am profiting off this Daria fanfic, I'm loving the idea that there are corporate losers out there who's only goal is to catch copyright infringement on fanfiction websites, I'm probably making more money working at Best Buy, corporate losers. Lol

Trent slowly opened his eyes, and looked at the in-flight TV screen, that showed where they were. 'Half way there' he thought to himself as the digital plane was just crossing into Colorado. He looked down to Daria who was still sleeping but appeared to have gotten up during the flight, her head rested on his shoulder and slept completely silent.

Meanwhile a few rows back

'I'm so bored' Quinn thought to herself as she flipped through the channels, she looked to her left and saw Jane reading a book with her IPOD on. To her right Tom had a Game Boy he was playing, she looked over and saw he was playing Pokemon Blue version. "Oh my god, you're like 19 and your still playing that kids game?" Quinn said.

"Well I don't play it per say like I did back in 5th grade, but on an 11 hour flight, it's a great way to pass time" Tom said punching away at the buttons. Quinn didn't have much of a response, seeing as how she appeared to be the only bored person on this flight.

Back a few rows up

'Her head makes a good pillow' Trent thought as he rested his head against hers. 'She's gotten cuter with age too' Trent thought, Trent never really hesitating to go for younger girls, despite his on again off again relationship with Monique back home. 'Man she can really sleep like a rock too' Trent thought as he closed his eyes. Unknowing to him, she was awake.

'My head itches' Daria thought to herself while she kept her eyes closed, wanting to avoid awkward conversation, that's what conversations have been like between them two" ' But I'm content' she thought as she adjusted her head a little bit. 'I just wish he would take notice to me' Daria thought abruptly, she then shook the idea from her head. 'Get a hold of yourself Daria, you're not the relationship t" 'But I'm content' she thought as she adjusted her head a little bit. 'I just wish he would take notice to me' Daria thought abruptly, she then shook the idea from her head. 'Get a hold of yourself Daria, you're not the relationship type' she thought to herself. 'Sadly' she added as she dozed back off to sleep.

"Hey Daria wake up" Trent said nudging Daria awake.

"What is it?" Daria mumbled as she shook herself awake.

_We will be landing in Los Angeles international airport in about 20 minutes or so, where the skies are clear and temperature around 72 degrees_

"Answers my question" Daria said flipping through the channels. Meanwhile a few rows back.

"I cannot believe you just played Pokemon for 11 and half hours straight" Quinn said in a look of amazement.

"Neither can I" Jane said looking at her boyfriend.

"It's amusing for a long plane ride" Tom said not taking his eyes off the game.

"Is he always like this?" Quinn said to Jane.

"Only on the weekends or in scenarios of intense boredom" Jane said looking out the window. She could see the airport as the plane was about to land. 'So our vacation begins' she thought as she leaned back in her seat.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we're here, I can't believe we're doing this, if we get caught we're in so much trouble" Quinn said with a sense of excitability and anxiety.

"Oh don't worry dear, it'll just be you and Daria" Jane said smiling not opening her eyes.

"Oh thanks, that makes me feel so much better" Quinn said frowning.

Meanwhile somewhere far away

"Alright Agent Raeka, are your orders understood?" A rugged voice behind a desk.

"Yes sir" Raeka said standing at attention.

"I don't have to tell you how important this target is to our investigation of the Columbian Cartel's gun smuggling, this hit will put us in a perfect position to perform an open strike" the voice said as he stood up from his desk and walked over to Raeka.

"Yes General Hayashi sir" Raeka said at attention. The general looked at his subordinate and noticed his hesitancy.

"Listen Michael, I understand what's going through your mind, you'll get your revenge and we wont have another failure like the last operation" Hayashi said putting his hands on Michael's shoulders. Michael closed his eyes for a second trying not to relive the previous operation. "You're the last of your elite team, and the best shot to nail this guy, you have your orders now execute. And as for those kids there pay no attention, they are just the bait" Hayashi said saluting at attention.

"Yes sir" He said saluting back and leaving his general's office.

Back in LA

The group was walking out of LA International Airport and Trent was trying to flag down a cab.

"Oh my god, I can't believe we're here!" Quinn yelled in excitement.

"If she says oh my god one more time" Jane said in frustration grabbing on to Daria.

"At least wait till we get to the hotel room to kill her" Daria said jokingly. Trent got a cab and everyone piled in. As they drove onto the turnpike Daria rolled down the window and just stared out the window.

"Know any cheap hotels around here?" Jane asked the cab driver.

"Ah see senorita, I take you there" The cab driver said in a heavy Latin accent.

Daria paid no attention to them. She was enjoying the weather and scenery. It was a warm dry night in the City of Angels; the sky was dark but was illuminated by the moonlight of the beautiful crescent moon. She could see the city lights flickering as the car drove. 'It's peaceful' she thought as she took in the scenery while listening to "I want to save you" by Something Corporate. The music lulled her back to sleep.

"It's amazing how much that woman can sleep" Jane said looking at her friend.

"You have no idea" Quinn said. When Daria woke up she saw what looked to be a two star hotel right outside the outskirts of the city, called the Palace Inn.

"Dis place muy bien" the cab driver said in his heavy accent.

"I guess it'll have to do" Tom said as everyone piled out of the car and got their bags.

"Oh no, we can't stay in a scummy place like this" Quinn said frantically.

"Your absolutely right Quinn, we should go to a higher quality hotel. And the extra money it'll cost you wont mind fronting for right" Daria said smiling.

"On second thought it's only for the weekend" Quinn said thinking of the financial consequences. They all walked into the front office to see what appeared to be a biker chick of sorts running the counter.

"Help ya?" the woman asked.

"How much for 2 rooms for the weekend?" Trent asked.

"200 Dollars for both rooms till Sunday" She said plainly. Trent handed her 200 dollars and she handed them 2 keys; after they got situated Tom, Jane, and Daria got one room, while Trent and Quinn got the other.

"So where are the guys?" Jane asked referring to the rest of the band.

"I'm not sure, we'll run into them eventually" Trent said slowly and calmly.

"You never worry about anything do you?" Jane said shaking her head.

"It never hurts to relax" Trent said smiling. With that they all found their ways into their rooms, Daria sleeping in one bed while Tom and Jane slept in the other. In the other room Quinn slept soundly before she woke up coughing. When she stopped she looked by the window, then by the clock.

3:44 AM

She slowly got up, wearing her sweat pants and a tank top and slowly walked outside.

"What are you doing awake?" Quinn said quietly seeing Trent leaning against the railing outside the rooms looking at the city smoking a cigarette.

"Just reflecting" he said simply staring into the city.

"At quarter to 4 in the morning?" Quinn questioned.

"There's never a time constraint on personal improvement" Trent said.

"I see, I didn't know you smoked." Quinn said leaning over the railing looking at the city.

"It's not something I'm really proud of" Trent said taking a drag

"Do the others know?" Quinn asked.

"Jane and Tom yeah, but not Daria, I don't want her to know" Trent said flicking his burnt up cigarette butt.

"You talk like you like her or something?" Quinn said. Trent looked at her. "Oh so you do" Quinn said letting out a sigh.

"More or less I used too, I think she did too, but I care for her like a sister, like I do Jane" Trent said heavily.

"Maybe for the better" Quinn said, thinking about the obvious crush Daria had on Trent for a long time, almost since they moved to Lawndale.

"Maybe" Trent said. There was a moment of silence. "It's beautiful isn't it?" Trent said lighting up another cigarette.

"Yes it is, it's still kind of shocking we're here actually" Quinn said thinking about the trouble she'd be in if her parents knew where she was.

"Well you're here so make the most of it" Trent said.

"So, nervous about your audition tomorrow?" Quinn asked trying to make conversation.

"Probably not as nervous as you are being here" he joked, she smiled as she continued to look into the city skyline.

"When is it?" Quinn asked.

"5 in the afternoon" Trent said.

"Didn't bring any instruments?" Quinn said observing lack there of.

"Letter said all will be provided" Trent said as his eyes narrowed a little bit.

"Sounds sketchy to me" Quinn said bluntly.

"About time someone figured that too" Trent said feeling the same.

"Then why'd you come?" Quinn asked.

"No point in living life if you don't plan on actually living it, that involves taking chances and taking risks" Trent said.

"And you dragged us along for your risks?" Quinn said giving him a look.

"It's best to have the people who matter to you around whenever you can, especially when you're taking risks" Trent said.

"Point taken" Quinn said.

"And from my understanding, you conned your sister into coming here, so you're here as of your own free will" Trent said smiling.

"She told you that huh?" Quinn said.

"Hey it's not everyday you go to LA, and you'd be amazed what I know about you and Daria" Trent said.

"Oh really, and how's that" Quinn asked.

"Daria tells me and Jane things, although mostly Jane, then Jane tells me, and I become part of the rumor mill" Trent said laughing while coughing a little bit.

"I thought it was just my friends who gossiped" She said laughing a little bit letting out an unnoticeable blush.

"Yeah, but you should go get some sleep, long day tomorrow" Trent said.

"And what about you?" Quinn asked.

"Since when do you need to worry about me?" Trent asked.

"I don't, I'm just curious that's all" She stammered.

"Go get some sleep would ya" Trent said and with that Quinn went to bed. Trent continued to gaze at the city skyline till the sun rose.

'Tomorrow is here, this is going to be interesting. I probably could write a song about this' he thought thinking about the day ahead.

Authors note: alright just a couple of quick hits I'm not giving hints to the rest of the story but I will say what I have in my head amuses me and probably will amuse you too. Also any reviews you have on the story are greatly appreciated, nothing motivates me more than human interaction when it comes to this kind of thing. So please encourage away and the story will roll on. As for the story I will say that music plays a big part in this story and the music almost tells a story of its own. What do you expect from a guitarist haha

Enjoy the story, I certainly enjoy the writing


	5. time for sun, time to run

Time for Sun, Time to Run

Disclaimer: To all the people who read through Fanfiction for copyright infringement violations… If I owned Daria, you'd work for me; now get me a Martini bitch!

I also redid this chapter from the original, because it sucked and was a disgrace on my part sorry

"Wake up Daria" Jane said shaking Daria's bed back and forth.

"What the hell" She muttered as she looked at the clock. '9:30' she thought. "Can't we sleep in a little longer, this is supposed to be a vacation of sorts, isn't it" Daria said rolling over.

"Normally I'd be with ya on that, but we want to see the city seeing as how we probably won't be here anytime soon. Oh and your sister wont shut the hell up about shopping" Jane said as she put on a her shirt and usual overcoat.

"Sounds like her" Daria said as she sat up, and wiped the crust out of her eyes. She rolled out of bed and put on her typical outfit, Quinn barged in.

"What's taking you guys so long let's go; the cab will be here in 20 minutes!" Quinn said fretfully and walked out again.

"She can be a nuisance can't she?" Tom said lying in his bed.

"You have no idea" Daria said walking into the bathroom.

Trent sat outside sitting on the bench messing around with his guitar waiting for the others when Jane walked out.

"You still dicking around with that thing?" Jane asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Got to be ready, ya know" Trent said attempting to tune his guitar for the tenth time.

"So what's the game plan for today?" Jane asked sitting on the ground next to Trent.

"Just chill and meet with the guys at the studio for the audition" Trent said calmly as he plucked the strings of his guitar.

"Well with Quinn here I doubt we'll be doing any kind of chilling" Jane said,

"We can chill and walk around, it's cool" Trent said.

"Yeah, I still don't understand why Daria agreed to bring her along" Jane said sighing.

"It's a sister to sister thing, we're not meant to understand what happens between them too" Trent said.

"She probably threatened to tell their parents if Daria said no" Jane said trying to offer an explanation.

"There's probably that too" Trent said, laughing a little bit thinking about those two while he watched Quinn paced around waiting impatiently.

Meanwhile back in the room.

"Cab will be here in like 10 minutes, Daria, and your sister is getting impatient and violent from the looks of things" Tom said as he continued to lie on the bed.

"That's her nature, but hey shouldn't you be getting ready?" Daria asked as she combed her hair.

"There's not much to me getting ready, simple pair of pants and deodorant should work fine for me" Tom said.

"Typical male regiment" Daria said flinching as she combed a knot out of her hair.

"Hey if the shoe fits" Tom said as he got out of bed and walked over to the dresser to get his clothes out, Meanwhile outside…

"Guys lets go the Cab's here" Quinn yelled to the rest of the group. As she said that Tom and Daria walked out of the motel room.

"Your sister is becoming annoying rather quickly, remind me again why you dragged her along again" Jane asked raising an eyebrow.

"Test of faith?" Daria said sarcastically.

"Well the dark side of things is looking pretty appealing right now" Jane said as the group walked towards the cab.

"What took you, the cab guy has been waiting" Quinn said.

"Then come on ya little snot lets go" Jane said pushing Quinn into the cab, everyone else followed.

"Hola amigos y amigas" The cab driver said.

"Say aren't you the same cab driver from last night?" Jane asked.

"Si, where are we going" he said in his heavy accent.

"I don't know, where too Trent?" Jane asked.

"We need to go downtown, that's where the producers office is" Trent said.

"Downtown it is hombres" The cab driver said as he peeled off onto the freeway and into morning LA traffic. The whole group went their separate ways in the cab, Quinn was pestering the cab driver for good shopping stores, Tom and Jane were playing a quick game of Gin, Trent was going over music chords in his head, and that left Daria to daydream and speculate.

She took a deep breath, and looked out the window, the music on the radio drowning out some of the sound of group in the car. 'Rockabye by Shawn Mullins, they never play this music anymore' Daria thought as she watched the cars drive by. Even though Quinn brought it up, it had never occurred to her realistically that they had skipped a day of school and went out of town for the weekend to Los Angeles all without friends and family knowing, outside of the fashion club with Quinn probably told repeatedly. The whole idea was somewhat scary, but exciting more than anything. 'I need to do stuff like this more often, life is definitely more interesting this way' she thought to herself as she smiled.

"Daria, what are you smiling about?" Quinn asked curiously.

"Nothing" she said coming back down from her daydream. 

"Weird" Quinn said as she turned her attention back to the bus driver. The rest of the cab ride went uneventfully. When they arrived at their destination the vastness, clutter, and size didn't click with the group until they actually got out of the cab and looked around.

As they cab driver drove off, Tom was the first to say something.

"This place is a lot bigger than I imagined it would be" Tom said looking at the tall buildings.

"So what do we want to do?" Jane asked the group.

"Well its quarter to noon right now" Daria said looking at her watch.

"Well I got to be at the studio at 5" Trent said as he hoisted his guitar strap around him letting his guitar hang on his back.

"Well I'm kinda hungry, food sounds like a good option" Daria said.

"Yeah I could go for food too" Jane added.

"I don't really care, but I hear there's a park 3 blocks up" Tom said pointing west.

"I need to practice my chords some more so I'll probably head to the park" Trent said.

"And I must shop" Quinn said.

"Will 5 hours be enough time for you?" Daria asked jokingly.

"I guess I'll have to budget my time" Quinn said seriously.

"Alright so we split up I'm guessing, let's meet at the park at 4:30" Jane said looking at her watch. Everyone nodded in agreement and went their separate ways.

"So Quinn has to budget her time for 5 hours of shopping, I just don't understand her" Jane said as the two walked around looking for food.

"To put it in perspective it'd be like you shopping for art supplies, or the perfect murder weapon" Daria said.

"Ah, it all makes sense to me now" Jane said sarcastically. "So, excited to be here?" Jane asked.

"Meh, it's alright" Daria said.

"It must really take a lot to interest you" Jane said giving Daria a look.

"Ehh it's alright I'm happy to be here, just not as happy as Quinn is" Daria said.

"What's wrong Morgendorffer, you've been spacy ever since you got in the car to go to the airport?" Jane asked.

Daria sighed. "I'm not sure, just got a weird feeling" Daria said.

"What kind of weird feeling?" Jane asked.

"Just a weird feeling about being here and on a different note being around Trent" Daria said looking down slightly.

"Pardon me for saying this but can you just get over yourself and talk to Trent, you know, tell him how you feel" Jane said.

"You make it sound so simple" Daria said thinking about her situation.

"For me it is" Jane said.

"Yeah but you also have Tom" Daria said.

"Oh Daria would you just admit it, you're lonely" Jane said.

"No I'm not, I'm just saying that you're with Tom and therefore if you're ever having problems you have Tom to fall back on" Daria said.

"And you want that, I know, I know, that's called being lonely" Jane explained.

"I am not lonely" Daria said with a more reactive tone of voice than normal.

"If you say so Morgendorffer" Jane said sighing. As they continued to walk they stumbled across a pizza place and went in for a slice. As they sat down with a medium pizza for them to eat Daria laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jane asked looking at her friend peculiarly.

"We travel 3000 miles and the best we can come up with for food is the same food we eat everyday at home" Daria said chuckling at the thought.

"Why mess with a good thing?" Jane said taking a bite of her pizza.

"Point taken" Daria said taking a bite of hers.

"So you think Trent will have his big break here?" Daria asked after several moments of silence.

"I would think so, I mean they invited him to Los Angeles and gave him free tickets and such, I doubt they do that for everyone.

"Hmm I hope so" Daria said taking a sip of her drink.

"If I were you I'd be hoping he makes it, not everyday you get to date a rock star" Jane said smiling.

"You should stop with your wishful thinking" Daria said.

"And you should take me seriously when I say you should talk to him" Jane said

"Hmm, maybe" Daria said.

"One day you're going to see my advice and logic is right" Jane said.

"Isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse?" Daria asked teasingly.

"We all got to die sometime, don't we?" Jane said. After the pizza place they wander around the city aimlessly for the next few hours by the time they made it to the park it was already quarter after 4.

"I wonder where the guys are?" Jane asked.

"No idea" Daria said as she put her hands behind her head.

"Never mind found them" Jane said pointing out Tom, Trent, and Quinn sitting on a bench. Trent was playing guitar and people walked by and tossed money in his open guitar case.

"Finally making decent money with your music?" Jane said teasingly motioning to the quarters and singles in his case.

"Well it's more of a profit than you got" Trent said. Daria noticed her sisters 18 shopping bags she had put into a large shopping cart.

"Get enough clothes?" Daria asked looking at all the bags,

"NO! Your stupid time constraints saw to that" Quinn whined,

"Where'd you get the money for all that stuff?" Daria asked.

"Oh Daria, when your attractive guys have a tendency of helping you out" Quinn said modestly.

"Or they just want to sleep with you" Daria said,

"Oh Daria, must you always be negative?" Quinn said.

"What time is it?" Trent asked interrupting their conversation.

"It's 4:27" Daria said looking at her watch.

"We should probably start heading to the studio" Trent said as he put his earned money in his pocket and his guitar in his case.

"Probably so" Daria said.

"Do we all have to go? I have some more shopping I want to get done" Quinn said as she went through one of her bags.

"It'd be a demonstration of good faith" Jane said not giving her an option.

"Oh alright then" Quinn groaned.

"Life must be so tough" Tom said as he stood up off the bench.

"How far away is the Studio?" Jane asked.

"According to the directions it should be 3 or 4 blocks that way" Trent said pointing north looking at his directions.

"Well let's head out then" Tom said and with that they all did. As they walked Daria looked up and noticed the weather. The sky was almost a dark blue and the sun was shining, it was warm and there was a nice gentle breeze, which was incredibly uncommon for Lawndale in downstate New York. But was definitely a positive to coming to Los Angeles. When they arrived at the studio they were shocked to find it was a huge tall building, when the walked in they were awestruck.

"Wow this is nothing like I expected" Tom said looking around. Everywhere they looked they saw beautiful marble and quartz, with a marble water fountain in the center lobby with Karp among exotic fish swimming around. They walked up to the front desk.

"Excuse me miss" Trent said.

"Ah Trent Lane and his party, you're expected take that elevator to the top floor, Mr. Paloz is expecting you" the receptionist said pointing to the elevator. When they walked into the elevator they looked around and saw everything was gold encrusted.

"This guy must be loaded" Quinn said in awe of her surroundings.

"No Quinn, he doesn't need a bride" Daria said jokingly.

"Not funny Daria, not funny" Quinn said crossing her arms. When they reached the top floor they walked out into what appeared to be an office. There were a couple of bookshelves and cherry wood tables with hickory wood chairs. And at the back of the office was a big desk and leather chair, behind it a huge window that covered the entire wall overlooking the city.

"Wow this guy is definitely loaded"" Quinn said as she walked around.

"I'd say so" Jane said touching one of the books on the shelf.

"Please try not to touch anything" they all heard a voice say. The leather chair behind the desk turned around to reveal a Latin looking executive with a small goatee.

"Please to meet all of you, I'm Vice-president Paloz, of the Americana Recording company" He said greeting them.

"Where are we doing the audition" Trent said in his same calm voice.

"My friend you've already auditioned" Paloz said laughing.

"I don't think I understand" Trent said curiously.

"I don't think you do either, but please sit down, I'll explain everything. Paloz said motioning to the couches and chairs. He then pressed a button that made a buzzing noise. Then a butler came out, that immediately caught Quinn's attention. Daria knew that look on Quinn's face, and just shook her head. He had long blonde hair that went to his shoulders, blue eyes, and looked to be 6'4" and well built.

"You called sir?" The butler said.

"Yes please serve our guests some sodas" Paloz said. The butler obliged and got them some soda.

"So what's the deal with the audition and where's the group?" Trent asked.

"Well the rest of your band's plane never took off so they never made it here, and as for you I have something special planned" He said.

"And that being?" Trent asked.

"Well you see, I'm in the money making business. And after a few successes and failures in this industry I decided to branch out, namely in foreign markets and trading. Sadly my superior didn't agree" Paloz said as he kicked the presidents body out from under the desk. Everyone looked in shock and stood up.

"Please sit down, I don't want a fuss" Paloz said motioning them to sit down. Everyone slowly sat down except Tom.

"I still don't get why you called us here from across the country to bear witness to this" Tom said.

"Well you see I needed help in this little ploy of mine" Paloz said standing up and stepping over the body.

"For the record, we want no part in it" Tom said getting in a defensive stance.

"Hah I love the youthful spirit you teenagers have, but it's best not to fight the inevitable" Paloz said.

"And that is?" Tom asked.

"LAPD are on their way, they're looking for the murderer's of CEO James Marko, they identified his murderers as a group a teens traveling the countryside, and you seem to fit the description" Paloz said smiling.

"This seems kind of elaborate, for murder" Tom said. All in the meantime Daria sat their thinking about everything that had transpired in the 10 minutes since she walked into his office. The whole thing was sudden and surreal, she looked over and saw Quinn who looked afraid to the point of shock, while Jane and Trent looked like they were pondering things, and Tom was defending their innocence the best he could although it seemed futile. 'How the hell does something like this happen, I knew I should've stayed home' Daria thought frantically looking around. It appeared that the only calm people in the room were Paloz and his butler.

"You see my boy, I'm a very ambitious man with very lucrative investments, so if I need an "elaborate ploy" to protect those investments then I'm willing to make the necessary moves" Paloz explained pulling out his gun.

"You have no evidence against us, without that your shit outta luck" Tom said.

"Oh Contraire, I have all the evidence I need" Paloz said taking the gun and shooting the window behind him and then tossed Tom the gun. "It's simple really, you come after me to finish your hit for hire you shoot at me and then flee the scene, where they shortly apprehend you and I walk away free" Paloz explained with pride.

"Not a chance we'll tell them what happened and…" Tom said before some more shots were fired off, this time from the butler.

"If your going to go with that plan, at least make it believable" the butler said shooting Paloz in the thigh. Paloz fell to the floor clutching his leg.

"I'm agent Raeka of the ASP, and you're under arrest for gun smuggling and Murder, and the LAPD will listen to me before you" Raeka said walking over to Paloz.

"You little punk, they're on my Payroll, they'll shoot you on sight" Paloz said laughing.

"We'll see about that" Raeka said walking over to everyone else. He thought for a moment and looked at them and pondered. Tom stomped up to him angrily.

"You are going to tell me what the hell is going on" Tom yelled.

"You really shouldn't yell, but I need you to do me a favor" Raeka said.

"I'm not doing anything until I get answers and know our names are cleared" Tom yelled.

"It's too late for you now ha-ha" Paloz yelled before Raeka shot him in the other leg casually. Paloz yelled out in pain.

"He doesn't shut up, but anyways I'm with the government, higher up than the LAPD they won't be an issue, but just in case" Raeka said before pulling out another gun.

"You're going to wake up with a wicked headache, he said as he shot everyone in the group.

Authors note for the purpose of this fic Lawndale is in downstate new york just to let you guys know. Please review and such, it motivates me. Peace everyone


	6. Awesome Road Trip, kinda sorta maybe?

Fantastic

Disclaimer: I don't own Daria, if I did it would still be on the air with new episodes of her in college and there would be a DVD release by now, the bastards

Daria grunted as she rolled over on the small mattress. She looked up to see sunlight shining through the window which did nothing for her pounding headache. Looking around she saw Jane lying on top of Trent and Tom and Quinn passed out on the other mattress. Standing up she noticed something, where ever they were, they seemed to be moving as the room rocked back and forth.

"What the hell" She muttered to herself as she made her way to the door. Opening the door she realized where she was. "This is a big bus" She said looking at the bunk beds and bathrooms off to the left and a lounge area off to the right. She looked up front and saw someone driving the bus, curious she walked forward.

"I see you're the first to wake up" A familiar voice said from the driver seat, Daria stopped suddenly half way there when hearing his voice.

"Uh I" was the only thing Daria could mutter as she was at a loss for words.

"Come sit down, I bet you have an awesome headache" The voice said pointing to the chair. Daria sat down and put his voice with his face, it was Agent Raeka. He was no longer in his Butler attire, but know in a pair of long baggy brown cargo shorts, and a black wife beater top that clung to his torso, showing he was no stranger to the weight room and yet lean. He wore old worn out sneakers and an ultimate Frisbee baseball cap. Underneath she could see his blue eyes and long shoulder length blonde hair that flowed loosely.

"Where are we?" Daria said rubbing her head, trying to remember everything that happened.

"Probably half way through Arizona by now" Raeka speculated. Daria put her head down for a second taking relief from the blinding south western sun.

"I'm sorry I had to put you guys down like that, but I had to make sure you guys didn't get in the way, no hard feelings?" He said as he played around with his IPOD that was hooked into the radio via cigarette lighter.

"You were the one that shot us!" Daria said as her memory began to return to her.

"This may sound weird, but I did it for your safety actually, its standard protocol actually" He said.

"Protocol for what, we we're there supporting a friend and we get sucked into some crazy mess and then shot, don't give me that protocol bullshit, where the hell did you come from?" Daria asked angrily.

"Well for one, call me Michael, two you're safe so don't worry about that, and three work for a secret intelligence organization dedicated to the prevention of international terrorism" Michael said not taking his eyes off the road. Daria took a second to gather herself.

"I don't get it" Daria said looking at him confused. He then stopped the bus.

"Wake up the others, I don't feel like explaining myself 5 times" Michael said as he paused his IPOD. Daria then walked in and got the others up, slowly, but they all emerged from the back room after about 15 minutes. They all stumbled their way into chairs and couches. Tom looked at Michael and recognized him immediately. He wanted to hit him but Jane shot him a look and he hesitantly sat down. They all sat as Michael stood in the middle of all of them.

"Alright everyone, first and foremost I must apologize for your headaches, I take responsibility for that. I'm 1st class sergeant and leader of the black knights, Michael Raeka, you can call me Michael. I shot you guys down for your own safety so you wouldn't be hurt by the gunfire which I can assure you there was plenty of. I was sent on a mission to expose a gun smuggling cartel, with a young band of teenagers being the bait, which was regretfully you. Things got ugly and I took measures to protect you guys, and now I intend on taking you guys home" Michael explained to the still dazed group of teens. Tom looked at him incriminatingly.

"So what are you CIA, FBI, NSA?" Tom asked.

"Actually none of the above, we're not funded by the government" Michael said.

"How do you support yourselves?" Tom asked.

"Our organization consists of a team of computer hackers that gather information, Our General, and we the Black Knights, who carry out our tasks" Michael said.

"Doing what exactly?" Jane asked chiming in.

"Dear, you're looking at the leader the Black Knights, the most elite bounty hunting task force on the planet" Michael said proudly.

"And you needed us why again?" Tom asked.

"Sometimes bait is needed" Michael said shrugging his shoulders. Tom became infuriated got up and took a swing at Michael. Michael with almost inhuman speed ducked out of the way, grabbed Tom's arm, and brought it behind his back. Tom struggled to break free, until Michael let him go.

"I'm getting the hell out of here" Tom said getting up and stomping out, the rest of the group watch as Michael casually walked over outside also. Tom looked around and saw nothing but desert and sunlight.

"You can leave if you want, there's a gas station 113 miles that way" Michael said pointing down the road.

"Where are we?" Tom said infuriated.

"Come inside and I'll tell you" Michael said putting his hand on Tom's shoulder and guiding him back inside.

"Now like I was saying, we used you get nab this guy, and if you knew his resume, you'd want him locked away for a long time. But he managed to get the LAPD to think that we are criminals and murderers so we have about every Police department on the west coast looking for us" Michael said.

"Not for nothing but we aren't criminals and they have no evidence" Daria said.

"Not for nothing dear, but they are the police, they decide what evidence is and what isn't" Michael said.

"Well this is bad" Jane said looking down at her lap.

"Well I have good news and bad news, what do you want first?" Michael asked.

"I could use some good news" Trent said.

"They don't have positive ID's on you, so they don't know who you are, and if I can get you home, you wont have to worry about anything" He said cheerfully.

"And the bad news?" Trent asked.

"There's a 3 million bounty on my head, and the 200,000 a piece for each of your heads if you're found so we might have problems along the way, which means we're going to have all sorts of people that will try and make some money, AKA amateur bounty hunters" Michael said.

"You seem like you knew that a little prematurely" Tom said. 

"This is what I do for a living, I have to know" he said laughing.

"So what's a good reason for us to stay around you if you're the only identifiable one here?" Daria asked.

"Because, you guys have no way of figuring out how to get home, and I can keep you safe when problems do arise" Michael said.

"Oh like you did before" Tom said.

"You're alive aren't you?" Michael said. Tom grumbled.

"So what's the deal now then?" Quinn asked breaking her silence.

"We keep moving and get you guys' home, and I'll deal with the details. Just think of this as a road trip of sorts" Michael said.

"This is far from it" Daria said.

"I'm just trying to keep optimistic" Michael said.

"Not my style" Daria said.

"Well I took the liberty, of grabbing all your clothes from your motel, and nabbed this tour bus for the ride home, there's beds, a bathroom, food and drinks in the fridge and we'll stop tonight for food" Michael said running through the game plan like he rehearsed it.

"Wait if we have a bounty, why would we want to be seen in public?" Jane asked.

"Practically everyone in this country doesn't read the wanted posters and you've garnered no media attention so no one will know" Michael said leaning against the wall behind the driver side door.

"You seem carefree about all this, but what the hell are we going to do if we get caught?" Daria asked, almost yelling now.

"I'm carefree about most things, if we keep our cool, we'll get through this, and I've been through way worse situations" Michael said putting his hand on Daria's shoulder.

"And what's worse than this?" Daria said shrugging his hand off.

"Try running from the Cartel in the Columbian rain forest, oh and the gun smuggling ring in the Tundra of Siberia was a pain in the ass as well" Michael explained, and smiling a bit.

"And we're expected to believe all this?" Tom said.

"Actually I really don't care if you believe me or not, I'm just assigned to escort you guys home so you don't get into troubles, your personal opinions of me are irrelevant, but it would be great if we could all be friendly on this trip.

"Well can you at least tell me where we are?" Tom asked.

"Ya know you haven't been the least bit nice to me this entire time, try to be friendly" He said smiling.

"Fine, tell me please" Tom said.

"We're on Route 40 in Arizona, heading towards New Mexico, I'm not taking direct route so I'm thinking it'll take us about a week" He estimated.

"A WEEK!" they all said in unison.

"Why so long?" Quinn asked.

"We're traveling down the southern border and then going to make our way up the Atlantic coast when we get there, it's long but it's safe, which is what we all want here right?" Michael said. They all nodded.

"Ehh, I was planning on shopping when we got back" Quinn said depressingly.

"You did enough shopping" Daria responded.

"Hey listen I'm telling you my plan if you guys got a plan of your own by all means share it" Michael said.

"We're going to talk it over" Daria said motioning to the door. They all walked outside leaving Michael inside.

"So what's the plan here?" Jane asked.

This all came up kinda quickly, so I'm not sure" Quinn said staring off into the desert.

"I think that he's probably our best bet at the moment until something better comes along" Trent said.

"Wait you actually trust this guy?" Tom chimed in.

"We kind of have to, don't we?" Daria said.

"Daria's right, we're not left with many options right now" Jane said.

"We have no idea of what his intentions are" Tom said.

"And what's the other option walk home?" Daria asked. "Seriously, if you have a grand scheme to get us home please share it" Daria said.

"Well I don't know" Tom said.

"Then it's settled, we have to go with him" Jane said.

"I got a sketchy feeling about this" Tom said.

"It'll be ok, there's on of him and five of us" Daria said.

"Yeah, but he's in some bounty hunting Task Force" Tom said.

"He really has no reason to actually hold us for anything so I think he's ok to trust" Trent said.

"Alright let's tell him" Jane said as the group walked back to the bus. When they got on Michael was sitting on the driver seat with his feet up smoking a cigarette.

"Relaxed maybe?" Jane said looking at him.

"It's how I do" He said laughing.

"We've decided to tag along on your little road trip" Jane said.

"Figured as much" He said. Tom stepped up.

"But I want to know where we are going to and all the details about this trip when I ask. No Bullshit" Tom said. Michael just looked at him. He got up and walked into the main area and reached in the fridge. When his arm came out he tossed Tom a beer.

"You need to chill out dude, you'll eventually figure out that I'm a friend" Michael said. He then walked over to Tom and extended his hand. "I'm may be a bounty hunter, and I may do a few illegal things here and there, but the Black Knights are 100 honest to allies, and that includes you too" Michael said looking at him in the eyes. Tom looked at his hand for a moment, and then shook it.

"Good to see you're aboard" Michael said.

"Yeah, just don't break my trust" Tom said gripping Michael's hand. Michael smiled.

"Alright guys, there's PS2 and XBOX360 in the main area, drinks in the fridge, and you know where the beds and bathrooms are, I'm gonna get this bus moving so call if ya need anything" Michael said as he walked to the front.

"He seems awfully carefree" Trent said.

"Well this certainly will be an interesting road trip that's for sure" Daria said.

A/N sorry it took so long to update I've been working a lot at best buy, and lots of hours means very little time to write. Sorry about the wait I'll try to be more consistent. R&R buddies…. PEACE


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